Heritance Kandelama

One of the main highlights of Sri Lanka was staying at the Heritance Kandelama hotel, which all of Boet's Sri Lankan friends back home recommended. It is designed by the famous Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa, whose main aim with this hotel was to make it one with the beautiful surroundings.

The hotel is between Dabulla and the famous Sigiriya lion rock, with views of the rock in the distance. It is set in a nature reserve, with animals galore, and apparently some wild elephants too.

The hotel is pretty much an open air hotel, and there are bats and swallows flying around the hotel corridors, and monkeys hang out on your balcony and try steal your food if you are not careful.

 Observe the hotel camoflauged against the forest!

 One of the highlights of the hotel is its lovely infinity pool, overlooking what they call a tank, and in the background you can just see Sigiriya - one can spend a lot of time in the pool looking at the gorgeous view!

 The second pool, situated on the roof.

 The hotel has an interesting network of roofs you can walk on, and with all the grass and plants on the roof, its like going for a stroll in the park!

 View from a mini-tree house overlooking the dining room

 View from our shower

 A large wooden elephant on wheels!

 We picked up some tasty take away in town, wrapped in a giant cabbage leaf - a pretty funky way to serve lunch!

 The Buddha tree - although it's not actually a Buddha tree, thats a different tree apparently

 Jumping on the plains below the hotel

 Boet goes for the frog jump technique

 Elephant rides at dusk

This is perhaps my favourite photo of the holiday - don't know why but I love the way it looks like the elephant is outside looking over the horizon, but he is actually in the hotel corridor.